The talented 6-3, 210-pound
4-star wide receiver from the Scarlet Knights' back yard in Englishtown, NJ had
plenty of enticing offers from the likes of Alabama, Florida State, Clemson,
Ohio State and LSU.

So it's hard to figure out
his recent flirtation with Penn State and new Nittany Lions' head coach James
Franklin. The fact Rutgers doesn't have an offensive coordinator with National
Signing Day just around the corner most likely plays a role.

Geography does matter to
Blacknall as he wants to play close to his family, and Rutgers is only 30 miles
away. State College is only 260 miles away, though.

Blacknall was in State
College over the weekend on an unofficial visit and has received an offer from
Penn State.

The Nittany Lions currently have
three wide receivers in the 2014 recruiting class. De'Andre Thompkins and Chris
Godwin are each 4-star recruits. Thompkins is already enrolled at Penn State.
And Troy Apke is a 3-star from Mt. Lebanon.

So Penn State has receivers,
a position of need, in this class. Landing a wideout like Blacknall, one of the
top 25 receivers in the country, would make the position of wide receiver the
calling card for this particular class with three 4-star prospects.

Blacknall has indicated his
remains committed to Rutgers, for now, and will take an official visit this
weekend to give head coach Kyle Flood a chance to push for one of the key
components of the Scarlet Knights' 2014 class.

Already blessed with the size
of a college wide receiver, Blacknall is one of those gliders in the open
field. By that he doesn't look overtly fast, but his stride is so long and
fluid that after watching only a few plays you know this guys is a burner.

Manalapan High School took
advantage of Blacknall's strongest asset, yards after the catch, by running him
on a lot of short routes just to get him in space.

Blacknall is elusive and
explosive after the catch, and has good instincts and vision when defenders are
trying to hawk him down.

His hands are average, but he
makes up for that by getting his body and hands in ideal position to receive
the ball. And because he glides so well, defenders get fooled a lot and
suddenly the guy you know can't be open is open.

Blacknall isn't window
shopping without a reason. He might still be in the Rutgers camp, but he's
clearly keeping his options open at this point. And one of the real options
appears to be Penn State.